Never Forget
by Stellar MEL
Summary: Although the fight with Tartarus is over, getting over the traumatizing events of the past month is difficult for Lucy and Natsu. While Lucy is having painful fits of memory loss, Natsu can't come clear with what he did. An encounter between the two goes wrong and Natsu finds himself lost in an endless forest, torn between the choice to return or stay with the unknown mages guild.
1. Autumn

**A/N: This takes place after Tartarus, but it doesn't include any of real manga plot after the Celestial Spirit King appears and everyone is freed.**

**This is my first fan fiction.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

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><p><strong>Lucy POV<br>**  
>How in the world did he get into my apartment this time?! One, I locked my door and my street-facing window, and two, I blocked the brick chimney so that not even Gray would have a chance of getting in. I had told my team to leave me alone for a while, and Mira had supposedly sent them on a mission to eradicate a dark guild in order to give me some space. I say supposedly because what I see peeking out from under my duvet before me is definitely the mop of salmon hair and the ends of a scaly scarf belonging to one of the people that are, supposedly, "on a mission" for the rest of the week.<p>

I decide to let Natsu be instead of (literally) kicking him out, because he looks so peaceful sleeping that it's impossible to be mad at him. I grab my woolen sweater, drop my keys into my pocket, and slip through the door silently. My steps take me in the opposite direction of the guild hall, while tiny raindrops drizzle down on me from above.

Now that all the trouble with Tartarus is over, the people in the guild have taken it unto themselves to party like there'll be no tomorrow. It feels like they want to drain the sorrow of the past months through a sieve of alcohol and merrymaking, leaving only the useful knowledge of experience behind. Actually no, cross that. I don't think anyone wants to remember anything, let alone something so painful.

We all lost something in the fight against the demon gates. Some lost more than others... I guess I would know more than most. Aquarius- I lean my head back and try to swallow the tears that I refuse to let escape from my eyes. She was such a wonderful spirit, even though she hated me for not being more like my mother. A single drop of salt water runs down down my cheek and hangs glimmering on my jaw. I wipe it off quickly and quicken my pace, my ankle high boots crunching over the gravel of a small, meandering garden path that I found while exploring Magnolia a year or so ago.

Not only did I lose Aquarius, I lost-

Huh? I can't remember! Please don't tell me it's happening again! I groan and close my eyes, praying that it won't be as bad this time. The Headaches. The Pain. And then... silence. And not just any silence. Silence that pushes all sound away, silence that digs it's claws into my brain like a mutilated bird, and all of a sudden-

Flies away.

I open my eyes. Thank Mavis it wasn't so painful. I feel cold seeping through my shirt and realize that I'm facing sky-ward, with my back on the cold, wet pebbles on the ground. How long was I out cold? I thank my younger, seventeen year old self for finding this secluded path, because it would have been embarrassing to have fainted in front of tons of other people. I pull myself up on a vine and brush off the tiny stones that decided to hitchhike on my woolen sweater, and wonder how I ended up fainting.

I suppose it must be because of the fit, but usually I'm conscious throughout the entire thing. As far as I know I've never fainted as a result of pain, but this time was different. Why?

I know that something happened during or after the fight against Tartarus that triggered this level of instability but of course I can't remember.

As I approach the end of the pathway I look down at my polished brown boots and avoid eye contact with people. I don't want them to see my blotchy tear-stained face. I follow my feet without a clue of where I'm headed and continue mulling over my predicament. Maybe someone in the Guild could figure it out for me? Although, I don't think I'd be able to bring it up. I haven't even told Levy yet, and she's been visiting me almost every day since we returned from… wherever we were.

I think about the Guild. I hadn't been there since the end of Tartarus, how long ago was it now? It seemed like years while it was probably only a few weeks. I wonder what they would think of my appearance, just randomly showing up. Not only have I not been there for weeks, I've also changed. I no longer wear my usual miniskirts and crop tops (it's fall after all,) instead I wear a pair of long navy blue jeans that hugs my legs while still being flexible enough for most anything. Hidden by my grey-blue sweater is a white tee shirt with sleeves reaching just below my elbows; a pretty lace-like design in front, and on each wrist rests a bracelet of smooth turquoise sea glass.

I had kept the pink heart shaped earrings from my mother, and I still wear the same belt: albeit without my fleuves d'étoiles today. My brown eyes probably have large bags under them from all the crying and the lack of sleep, and I'm not sure whether I've even showered or brushed my hair today. I feel gross, but at least I'm walking outside of the fifty foot radius I'd mentally built around my apartment in the past few weeks.

I stop walking and look up. I'm standing in front of the guild.

**Mira POV**

I stand behind the bar and polish one of the dusty wine glasses. I had to carry up a whole box of them from the storage room because so many people were _still _drinking and celebrating. Even the Magnolians have joined us! It reminds me of after the Grand Magic Games, where the townspeople had joined us in the celebrations for an unexpected win and a brand-new guild hall. Kinana helps me by serving the masses while I prepare the drinks and, like I'm doing now, clean glasses.

There's one key difference between now and the party we had after the Grand Magic Games though. It's much calmer this time around. I put the blame on the absence of Natsu. He was here the first few days of partying but when he noticed that Lucy hadn't shown up at all he stopped coming to the guild. I told him that Lucy just needed some time to get over her loss, but he said that he only wanted to help, and it's not like she would want to stay away from her friends and the guild for so long if there wasn't something seriously wrong.

I explained to him that she had told me she wanted to be alone, but he wasn't having any of it. It was so cute how much he worried about Lucy! However I knew that she would be really disappointed in me if he just showed up at her house despite her request of solidarity, and decided to send Team Natsu on a job, seeing as the rest of Lucy's team wasn't acting much better. I thought a mission to wipe out a dark guild would take them at least a week, and that's what I made Levy tell Lucy in one of her regular visits to the blonde's apartment.

I bring my attention back to the guild hall and see that Laxus' eyes are fixated on the door, no, something past the door. I turn my head and see a very feminine silhouette that seems mildly familiar. Laxus can probably see the details better than I, as the girl is standing right in his field of vision and he has better eyesight. I gaze up questioningly at him, and he mouths one word. A name.

Lucy.

**Natsu POV**

I groan and roll over. My head is still groggy from such a short nap, but I can tell immediately by the scent of strawberries and vanilla that I'm in Lucy's bed. I sit up and adjust my scarf, mentally preparing myself for the yelling that is sure to come. Mira warned me that I shouldn't go to Lucy's apartment but I couldn't help myself, I missed her and it just wasn't fun in the guild without her presence. But to my surprise nothing happens.

I listen carefully, but even with my dragon slayer senses I can't hear her. All I can hear is the rain and the low humming of her electrical appliances. Her smell is about twenty or so minutes old and a little unfresh. I wonder why she left when I came. And how in the world did I fall asleep when I was so close to seeing her again? It must be because of the mission Mira sent us on. We had finished it in half the time planned but had sacrificed precious hours of sleep in the process, meaning that when I broke into Lucy's rental by breaking through the back window, I had gone straight to her bed instead of thinking beforehand. I guess it's habit at this point, sleeping in Lucy's bed despite the circumstance.

I stood up, my head clearing a little bit more. Where is Lucy? Suddenly the irrational fear that something horrible could have happened to her grips at me, ripping the last shreds of grogginess from my mind. I race through her room and out the door, sniffing the air for any trace of her scent as I thunder down the stairs. I stand outside and can smell faint traces of strawberries and vanilla in the air, floating towards me from the general direction of the Magnolian Gardens. I follow my nose until I'm standing in front of a tiny garden path.

I follow Lucy's smell for over thirty minutes. By the way it's spread throughout Magnolia in a completely disorganized way I can guess that Lucy was walking around without paying attention to the direction she was walking in. At one point her smell is very strong, as if she stood there for a while, but I relax a little as I realize that the entire time I've been walking, I haven't detected any unfriendly smells. Because it's fall now it's kind of chilly, but my magic keeps me warm. I chuckle. I wonder how Lucy must be holding out, with her miniskirts and all.

It occurs to me that this is actually the first autumn that Lucy is experiencing in Magnolia and with the guild. Since the warmer seasons are much longer in Fiore it kind of makes sense- I met Luce in early summer, we fought Phantom Lord soon after that. Then there was Jellal... and the Oracion Seis as well. Those were both during the second part of the summer. We went to Edolas during autumn, and since I'm assuming Edolas has different seasons we experienced more late-spring like weather. Tenrou was so far south that we didn't have a winter, then we were frozen for seven years, and the whole thing with Real Nightmare took so long that the entirety of spring had come and gone without us noticing it. The Grand Magic Games and the Dragon King Festival were in the summer, and Tartarus was late summer. Now it's fall. It's crazy how the time flies.

I realize that I'd spaced out for a moment and had accidentally knocked over a market stall. I run away from the angry looking man that's yelling at me while still following Lucy's trail, and shout apologies at the people I trip or trip over. I start running faster as Lucy's smell grows stronger with every step I take. Ahead of me I can see the guild hall and I'm confused for a moment, but Lucy's smell is the strongest there so she must finally be visiting the guild again. I grin, run into the guild and stand panting by the large double doors, scanning the crowd for a blond head. I spot Laxus on the second floor, and I see him looking towards the bar more often than usual. That's when I see Lucy's hair and I rush into the crowd of people, a smile stretched across my face.

**Lucy POV**

The first thing I notice when I walk into the guild is that each of the dragon slayers are staring at me. Am I really that easy to smell? Oh no, please don't tell me it's because I haven't taken a shower yet...

The looks on their faces suggests it's not the fact that I stink, more the fact that I showed up at all that makes them look so... surprised? Wendy however looks overjoyed and immediately starts walking towards me. I see another bluenette follow her and recognize Levy's petite figure. Gajeel's eyes follow Levy for a moment, but then they snap back to me. Laxus seems to be having a telepathic conversation with Mira, who's standing at the bar holding a dusty wine glass.

She hastily puts it down and rushes around the bar in my direction. Erza and Gray notice the commotion being made by their friends and they join the rest of the group as they all start hugging me and asking me what in the world I've been doing this whole time. Even the master comes out of his office overjoyed.

"I think this calls for a party!" He yells over all the commotion.

Mira sighs and looks at the amount of people that would definitely be buying even more drinks. I could tell from the look on her face that this was going to be a long day for the white haired take over mage.

I hear a voice behind me.

"Luce!"

He's already awake? All of a sudden I feel a weird sort of tugging in my stomach and I duck under Mira's arm in an attempt to get away. I run around the bar and ignore the shouts from my friends and those that I push away in my haste. I slam the bathroom door behind me and slide down the stall wall.

What happened to me? My head is pounding and I feel like I'm about to vomit. I crawl over to the toilet seat and rest my head over the rim, just in case anything does come up. My eyes flutter closed as the sleep I desperately needed slithers into my brain at the worst yet best possible moment.

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><p><em>I'm lying on the ground and my body hurts in every possible way. My head pounds and the sharp pain in my chest won't go away.<em>

_Where am I?  
><em>_  
>What am I doing in a place like this?<em>

_I groan as I try to roll over and open my eyes. One of them refuses to open and it feels like someone poured mud into it. The other is fine, however, and I look at my surroundings with increasing fear and disgust. The ruins of a building lie in piles around me and shards of glass litter the floor. I see a hand poking out of the rubble and my stomach threatens to push up my breakfast. If I even _had_ any breakfast that is.  
><em>_  
>I see something move to my right and tilt my head so that I can see it more clearly with my uninjured eye. The shape seems vaguely familiar, although it seems somewhat unhuman, like a human's silhouette merged with that of one of the gargoyles perched on Cardia Cathedral. I can't see much color yet, and the shadows can barely register in my brain, so I can't see the- beast- very clearly. Although the general body shape suggests it's male. A male human with demon horns coming out of its head.<br>__  
>But why does it seem so familiar? I wrack my brain for a memory or a clue, anything that will tell me who is standing there with smoke pouring out of the ground beneath him. What sort of magic is that? I need to cough but I'm afraid that the… thing… will notice me.<br>__  
>I lie still, hoping that it won't realize I've woken up. Not like it will matter to the beast, but just in case I slow down my breathing and force my heart to calm down as well. All of a sudden the creature turns towards me and looks me straight in the eye. I nearly scream and my heart goes straight into a rhythm that rivals the heartbeat of a scared mouse. It's not the fact that it looked at me that scares me. No, it's the fact that I recognize him.<em>

_But he doesn't recognize me._

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><p><strong>Soooooo… You like? Please review! If you have any questions they will (probablyhopefully) be answered in the next chapter… but still ask so I don't forget to answer it. Constructive criticism is welcome!**

_**PLEASEREADPLEASEREADPLEASEREADPLEASEREAD!**_

**I've noticed that not many people read past the first chapter, so if you're one of those people that want to stop after a chapter or so, please review/PM me and say _why,_ because for my first story I really want to focus on improving my writing skills, and I can't improve if no-one gives me any constructive criticism! [but if the reason is something that can't be turned into something helpful than please don't tell me, that would make me sad :)]**

**Ok, on the other hand if you have an idea for and OC then please review or PM me with the usual OC info (if you forget something then whatever, I can fill in the blanks) I will probably fiddle around a bit with the info but I really need ideas as a base. If your character is really *awesome* then it will stay the same but... yeah it depends on what is going through my head at the point when I'm writing the next chapter. The main thing I need is NAMES!**

Enough with the talking.

~Stellar MEL


	2. Pain

**Heeeyyy here's chapter two, I hope you like! **

**I don't own Fairy Tail (*sobs*)**

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><p><strong>Lucy POV<strong>

When my drifting conscious returns to my body it feels like my brain has been turned inside out, stepped on, and then dunked in fire before finally being put back into my pounding skull. My mouth is incredibly dry and tastes of bile, and my tongue feels like something close to an old marshmallow, _without _sugar. I can hear shivery voices floating around me, but I can't tell if they're really shaking or if that's my head making them collapse around one another. I feel something soft and warm beneath my head and around my body. I try to move, but I can't even make my hand twitch. Did I have another fit of memory loss? If so, I'm glad I was old cold the entire time. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I had to go through the pain of another fit.

Instead of trying to remember what happened I concentrate on the sound surrounding me. There are a couple of low pitched voices somewhere by my feet, and about the same amount of high-pitched ones clustered around my head. It seems the people to whom the high-pitched voices belong don't want the others to come any closer, but I can't figure out the reason.

My senses slowly returning to me, I can hear more clearly what the voices are saying.

"No- health- not good- again-. She- closer- time," one of the higher voices murmurs. Closer to what?

A low-pitched grumble, and then a crash as someone breaks down the door of the room.

"Natsu!- away- Lucy- magi-" the stricken voice stops abruptly as I groan.

I feel a slight pressure on my side and open my red eyes to see the blurry outline of a face hovering over me. My eyes focus a little bit more and I can see that the worried face belongs to Mira. Behind her are Erza, Levy and Wendy, while the two retreating backs belong to a struggling Natsu being pulled out by our resident ice-maker mage. I close my tired eyes again and try to talk, but to no avail. A comforting hand gently raises my head and I feel a cooling liquid being poured into my mouth.

I swallow the water and croak out a dry, raspy, "what happened?" Luckily Wendy is there, otherwise no one would have heard me.

"You don't remember?" she inquires with her soft voice. I try to shake my head negative, but my muscles won't respond. The sky dragonslayer and the two others seem to have understood, however, so they start explaining to me in worried voices.

"Well, you finally came back to the guild," Mira begins, "and we were all so happy to see you again. Then Natsu ran in and called your name..."

"And you sort of freaked out." Erza finishes for her. "You ran into the girl's bathroom and we found you out cold on the stone floor with your head resting on the toilet rim..." Her voices fades off and her face takes on a slightly greenish tinge. The redhead gazes at Mira, willing her to continue.

"There was a small puddle of vomit around you, it seems you threw up after falling asleep. You're lucky that you were already leaning on the toilet, otherwise you could have choked." Mira continues the story. I shudder at the mental image this gives me. Not the most pleasant way to die. "We carried you to the infirmary and Wendy immediately set to work healing you-" I grunt a thank you "-and then we changed you out of your dirty clothes. You were out cold the entire time and sleeping ever since."

A sliver of a voice escapes my mouth. "How long?"

"Three days."

"H-how? What's happening to me?" I'm talking more to myself than to my friends at this point. "First my memory, now th-this..."

The confused looks on their faces tells me that they have absolutely no idea what I mean, but I'm too tired to explain, and the room slowly disappears as I fall back into a deep, dark sleep.

**Natsu POV**

"Please, just let me see her!" I shout, not caring that people are staring at me.

"Shuddup fire brain, there's a reason you're not allowed in."

"Oh yeah, then what is that reason ice princess!"

"You know we can't talk about that here, people shouldn't know, it'd ruin our reputation!"

"If this has something to do with Tartarus, then just say so! I had no-" I'm cut off by Gray slapping his hand over my mouth.

"Just. Stop. TALKING!" The sudden venom in his voice scares me a little, although I wouldn't show it for a million jewels.

I bite his hand so that he lets go and run away, anywhere, just not where there are constantly eyes on me, watching my every move. What did I do to deserve this? I was only trying to save my friends, only trying to save-

Her.

But I couldn't.

And now she's like this.

And it's all my fault.

**Lucy POV**

_I'm going crazy. _

_I know I am. _

_It can't be... _

_I groan as my chest clenches, and I roll into a fetal position. The demon is still standing there. Still watching with that curious look. Still standing there, and it's killing me, the pain, it won't go away, just like the demon won't go away. And the memories, they're flooding into my head, but they hurt, I don't want to see this, I don't want to feel this. My head is pounding, the pain is flooding through my entire body, through my entire being, and all of a sudden, silence. Utter, complete, silence. And the silence won't go away._

I gasp and air comes rushing into my body, I've got to calm down. It's nothing, I try to tell myself. Just a stupid nightmare. But somehow I can't convince myself that this is true. The pain felt all too real, all too familiar. And the silence, the silence that pushes all sound away, it was the same. The exact same.

I think back to what is now more than three weeks ago, when I woke up from a silence so perfectly quiet that it made my blood run cold. I remember seeing my comrades gathered around me, but I still couldn't hear, the silence was bearing down on me and I still couldn't hear. I remember screaming, but not hearing myself scream, only feeling the vibrations in my throat and the tears streaming down my face. I remember fearing I was deaf, or even dead, and screaming my pain to the world. I remember the arms around me, comforting me, and slowly my brain could perceive and translate the vibrations on my eardrums into sound. I remember feeling relieved.

So relieved.

That was the first time; when I had been asleep for almost a week after we defeated Tartarus. They told me it was severe magic depletion that had caused it but loss of magic power doesn't steal your memories, and it sure as hell didn't give you fits where all you can think about is the pain coursing through your veins and the silence threatening to crush in your skull. I didn't ask about it though, because I could tell they weren't going to say anymore on the topic.

There were many fits after that, some in my waking hours, but many more that would wake me while the moon was still in the sky. But then I was alone, and that was better. Would they see that I'm still affected by what happened during Tartarus they'd think I'm weak. They'd think I'm incapable of getting over the trauma. But it's not only the trauma of what I saw- what I went through. It's also my memory. The moments before the pain floods my body, I forget what I was about to say, what I was about to think even. I forget things that are important- things I should never forget.

But I have to be strong. I can't let this affect me. No matter what happens I have to be strong.

**Mira POV**

I've sat by Lucy's side ever since she's returned to the guild. After the first time she woke up her fever has gotten better; she's not burning up as much as before. However it seems she's been having horrible nightmares and I'm afraid to ask what they're about. She would start shivering like mad and then her eyes would open, as if she were awake, but they didn't see anything. The brown orbs would be fixated towards the ceiling, but focused on nothing. Then she'd start whimpering and speaking, but I couldn't understand what she spoke. Once her mouth opened in a silent scream, and her bloodshot eyes were ripped open, her muscles contracting and her back arched against some sort of unimaginable pain.

That's when I started thinking. Was she finally remembering? Were the memories finally returning to her?

I gazed down at Lucy's troubled features and wondered what she was dreaming about now. She looked different now, as if she were trying to listen for something but failing to hear it. All of a sudden her body convulsed and her brown eyes stared straight into mine as she gasped for breath.

I sit still for several minutes, not daring to wake her or see if she's already awake. The entire time her eyes never leave mine. After countless minutes she finally stirs and starts breathing normally again, but her eyes don't close and I can see that she's awake. I stand up to get her some water and she slowly sits up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You seem to be getting better, Lucy." The blonde grins weakly at me.

"How long was I out cold this time?"

"Two days. Your fever's gone down, but you need to eat and drink before going back to sleep this time. It didn't help us that you passed out last time." She giggles and falls back into the pillows, her hair spread out around her head like a halo. Then she frowns.

"Where are the others?"

"They're on a mission. Wendy is in the library with Levy though, they're combining their knowledge and skills to figure out how out how to heal you."

Lucy's frown deepens.

"It's not going to work," she whispers so quietly that I can barely tell what she said, "there's more to it than you think."

With this the spirit mage rolls over and goes quiet, leaving no doubt that she wants to be left alone. I creep out of the room and close the door silently behind me, shaking my head at Gramps, who promptly disappears into his office while I continue over to the bar.

**Natsu POV**

It's been five days since Lucy showed up at the guild and passed out. No one has told me anything, not that I expect them too, but I'm going crazy not knowing what's up and I need someone to fight, someone to release my anger on. Fighting Erza would be nice, but she's been sent on a different mission and I don't know where she is. Just great. I kick the stones littering the path before me and fight the temptation to scream at everyone walking around me. They have no idea. They don't know what I've done, how it's tearing me apart, and I want to scream in their oblivious faces every time someone laughs or says good morning in those stupid cheerful voices.

Instead I run. I run, my feet pounding against the ground and sweat dripping down my face. I don't know where I'm headed but I sure as hell don't want to be here, where everything smells like Her, everything reminds me of what I did. I run until I'm surrounded by trees and thorny bushes rip at my clothes and leave small red lines all over my skin. I ignore the pain and keep on running, scaring birds out of their trees and making rodents scurry away into their burrows.

Finally I stop. I'm standing in a clearing and I have no idea where I am.

**Lucy POV**

_I can finally hear again. The shard of glass crunch under the feet of the demon as he starts walking towards me, still with that look of mild curiosity on his face. I grab for the keys on my waist but my hands feel empty air, and I know I'm doomed. How ironic. The person that saved my life countless times, be the one to end it. I would laugh if it wasn't so deathly serious. I cough instead, blood dripping out of my mouth onto the ruined ground, dying the stones a glimmering shade of scarlet._

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><p><strong>That was chapter two! Please review and follow!<strong>

**For whoever reviewed, followed, and favorited my story: Thank you so much. It means so much to me that you guys want to know what happens next and that you like my story. THANK YOU! **

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	3. Strawberries

**Yay third chappie!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail and blah blah blah,**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Natsu PoV<strong>

The knobbly bark of the tree digs into my back, my thin vest providing very little protection from the rough skin of the ginormous plant. Everything around me is still, almost no sound of wildlife or even a stray breeze, and unconsciously I start humming to fill the space around me with sound. I doubt what's being hummed even resembles a tune, but since there's nobody there, it doesn't matter. As long as I don't have to sit in this lonely silence.

I don't want to remember that day. The day of no sound... no noise.

I shake myself. _Don't start thinking about it again. What's over is over, there's no need to wallow in the past. _I brush the leaves off of my trousers and haul myself up heavily with the aid of a low hanging branch. Choosing a random direction, I wander aimlessly around the forest, checking once in a while for anything: a sign I've been there before, markings of other animals, or any clue that I'm not the only living, moving thing in this endless emerald ocean of trees.

The sights and smells the forest has to offer overload my senses and overwhelm my brain. It's not unpleasant, quite the contrary. It's calm here- peaceful- and my muscles have finally relaxed from the stress built up in the past month. The pain that was behind my eyes has disappeared as well, leaving me feeling slightly light-headed and giddy, but I can finally think again without a dull pain persistently pounding away at my skull.

Still. It's not like I can stay here forever. I'm probably not needed in the guild, but Happy doesn't know where I am and Lucy's not in a condition in which she can go on missions- her rent's due soon. I sigh heavily and plop myself down on a boulder.

_This is my fault…_

The monster in my mind is back, clawing at my thoughts and emotions. It's as if the creature of pain is laughing maliciously at my pitiful attempt at being happy, gleefully stomping on my last shred of joy and sanity while simultaneously activating the part of my brain with the saddest, most hurtful memories.

_The day Igneel left…_

_Finally realizing that my searches for him would always be fruitless…_

_Losing Lisanna…_

_Seeing Erza cry and not knowing how to help…_

_Seeing Gramps completely defeated and close to death…_

_Acnologia…_

_Failing to save Lucy from the Oracion Seis…_

_Witnessing the torture Minerva inflicted on Lucy and not being allowed to stop her…_

_Losing Future Lucy…_

_And then losing myself._

**Lucy PoV**

I stay still for a few silent minutes after Mira leaves, but at some point I decide that being lazy and staying in bed will not fix anything, despite the fact that it usually does. As I roll over my blanket flops to the floor, leaving me with no coverage except a skinny white nightgown that barely holds in my body heat. Goosebumps cover my skin as I carefully rest my feet on the ground and tentatively rise from the warmth of the bed. I look around the room and see it's completely devoid of other people, and the loose curtains around the infirmary beds flutter gently as a breeze from outside dances around the room.

Looking again I see that someone, probably Mira, has set a pile of clean clothes on a chair in the corner. I walk over and inspect them, grinning as I realize that these are the clothes I came in, meticulously cleaned and now smelling like strawberries. I wonder where they got clothes detergent that smells like strawberries? I'll ask them later, I think while clothing myself.

I nervously peek my head around the door leading to the general guild hall area and the first thing I see is Levy and Wendy sitting at a table not so far off, surrounded by books and loose pieces of paper. Gajeel is approaching them with a pile of reading material from the library in his hands, and I grin somewhat mischievously as I see Levy thank him with a warm smile. However, it seems that the iron dragonslayer could feel my gaze and he says something to Levy in a low voice, glancing over at me all the while. The petite girl jumps up and rushes over to me, surprising me with a warm hug, and Wendy follows closely with a happy but worried expression on her face. She hugs me as well, and after a long moment I feel, rather than hear, Mira preparing to tackle me with a hug once the others let go.

I grin. This mischievous side of the She-Devil rarely shows itself, and I plan to play by her rules this time. The pressure around my body decreases as the two blunettes release me from their embrace, and I duck quickly to the side. Once I feel Mira's body speed past me I stand up and watch what unfolds in front of me.

Mira rises from the floor, a small amount of strawberry cake splashed in her white hair. Next to her a furious redhead looks dangerously close from exploding, her precious slice of cake covering most of her face. Even so, Erza's narrowed eyes can still be seen through holes in the icing, surveying the scene with a glare that would scare even the King of Tartarus himself. Her eyes move over Mira, Gray, Gajeel, and Juvia before settling on Wendy, Levy, and finally, myself.

The knight's gaze softens instantly and without wiping off her face she marches over and pulls me into an iron embrace.

"I'm so glad you're finally up!" the scarlet haired mage says in her usual 'boss' tone **[A/N: I don't know how to explain exactly, but- this is where her voice goes all proud-like]**. "We've all missed you so much. You finally come back, but immediately we lose you again. It seems to have become an ironic pattern at some point- remember after we fought Phantom Lord? You went to say goodbye to your father but we thought you had left for good. Then again during the Grand Magic Games, when you and Yukino were arrested: we met future you, but almost immediately afterwards we lost her. You've got to stop doing that to us, Lucy." I would complain that she's blaming me for something that's not my fault, but I hear a smile in her voice, so I grin instead and pull away from the hug.

"I promise I'll stop getting lost, although I can't guarantee it." Everyone except the red-head laughs, but when she finally understands her laugh is one of the loudest.

_That's odd, normally Natsu would be making tons of noise at this point. I look around the happy guild hall. I haven't seen him yet either. Maybe he's on a mission? It feels like the others are hiding something, maybe it has to do with him-_

I feel myself being pulled over to the bar and see a strawberry milkshake being put in front of me. I haven't eaten for five days and I probably should not be consuming something so unhealthy after being in such a bad state, but when I see the white haired She-devil grinning at me over the glass I give in and down the entire thing in five gulps.

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><p><strong>So. New Chapter. How'd you like it? I decided that I would end this one on a happier note because the other two ended with Lucy's flashbacks. Plus I suck at cliffhangers so I didn't even try to make this chapter end cliffhanger-y.<strong>

**On the other hand, I have gotten AWEsome idea and the idea is so awesome and it will make dis story awesome miaybe (I wrote that in a thick German accent and if you figured out where this comes from you are... wait for it... AWESOME! *falls over laughing and wipes imaginary tear of laughter from eye*)**

**Ok, enough with the rambling.**

**~Stellar MEL**


	4. Sense of Smell

Natsu PoV

Something rustles in the dense bushes behinds me, even though the air is completely still. I whip around and glare at the green leaves that are concealing a potential threat from my gaze.

"Who's there?" I growl. My stomach growls with my voice, and I realize that the thing in the bushes could also be food. _Well that makes it easier._ I'm beyond the state of simple hunger that is my constant companion. Now the hunger is an enemy, making my movements ungraceful and pitiful, but I'm also itching for a fight. The bush-creature could solve both of my problems at once.

_Here I go!_ I leap over the bushes, my arms igniting as I soar into the air. In mid-flight I smash my hands together, forming a gun. _Bang._ I shoot bullets of fire into the dense leaves, hoping that they either expose the enemy or catch my meal. I land nimbly on the balls of my feet, although hunger makes me stagger a little to the left. The result of my attack is very satisfactory, the foliage catching fire and making it impossible for the creature to stay in hiding for very long. I resist the urge to whoop and drool at the thought of meat after days of surviving on tiny berries that possibly only made me hungrier.

Slowly the bushes disintegrate, leaving empty skeletons and giving me a clear view through the waist-high forest. My hope dissipates as I look as the mess of twigs and ashes. _There's nothing there…_ It was for nothing. My stomach growls angrily, and I lose it. I scream insults, although there's no one to hear them. It continues growling and I want to punch something, to fight, but instead I can just scream at my hunger and hopelessness, at the prison this forest has formed around my mind, at the world. I scream and yell until my vocal chords feel like they've cracked, and then I fall silent, panting and clutching my chest.

"That's quite a pair of lungs you have there."

All of a sudden new smells flood my senses and I have the feeling I can't breathe. What is this? I couldn't smell anything this close before, but now I can feel a foreign presence at my back. I spin around and muster the person standing there calmly, although I'm shaking and I still can't breathe. Her deep purple eyes sweep over my body in one smooth loop, not stopping until they rest on my face and stay there for an uncomfortably long time. The graceful way she holds herself suggests about eighteen years of age, but her soft, childish features make her seem years younger. She's tall, almost as tall as me, and long, bright amethyst hair that contrasts the darkness of her eyes flows down to the small of her back.

"Are you lost?" Her voice is light, but there's a hint of a threat behind it. I try to find my voice, but I can't wrap my head around another person just standing there as if it's normal to _not_ be completely lost in this endless forest.

"You seem to be hungry." She continues talking with her soft, cold voice. It grates against my ears like dirt, but at the same time it loosens the fear from my limbs.

"Y-Yeah…" I manage to choke out one word, but then I fall silent again. _This isn't like me! Why am I like this, I should be yelling at the top of my lungs! I shouldn't be scared of a girl! _But no matter how much I berate myself I can't bring my voice to talk to this person. The fact that she could sneak up on me without me being able to smell her makes me tremble. _She must be really strong if I can't smell her until she's three feet away from me._

"Well then, come with me! You don't seem like a bad guy, so might as well feed you. I don't have anything with me, so you'll have to come to the guild." What? There's a guild in the middle of a forest? Or are we just so close to the edge that we can walk there? And what's with her? Just a few seconds ago she was completely cold towards me! The girl turns, her short, violet patterned skirt swishing back and forth. Only then do I notice that she's wearing a backpack. It looks homemade but sturdy, just like her clothes. It's fashioned like an open topped bag, but there's a flap fastened on top to prevent rain dirt from going in and things from falling out. In the middle of this flap there's a weird emblem imprinted, I guess it's the guild mark.

Should I follow her? She smells ok, very different from a bad guy, but I've learned that smell is not the only factor to judge when it comes to her. I decide that I might as well, because it really can't get any worse for me. I can always just run away if anything were to happen.

I start warily walking behind her, keeping my gaze fixed on the guild emblem on her pack. It's incredibly detailed, but at the same time simple and beautiful. In the center there's a compass rose made of a circle and eight triangles of varying size. To both the left and the right side of the compass are three thick lines that form wings. I want to ask the girl what it symbolizes, but I doubt she'd answer.

We walk in silence for a long time, the only sounds are those made by my sandals and her knee-high laced boots when they snap twigs and crush dry leaves. The undergrowth grows thicker; my trousers and exposed calves are accumulating more tiny scratches on top of those already there. The girl however seems to be fine. She's wearing thick, sturdy, thigh high stocks under her brown boots that protect her from the tiny thorns all around us.

When we finally escape the sea of thorn bushes we're standing in a clearing surrounded by huge green trees. The angle of the sun lights up the leaves in golden light, and the swirling dust is illuminated as it waltzes about in the air. Behind the tree line I can see dark waves of thorns and foliage, and where there should be a track of crushed bushes made by our shoes there is none. I turn to the girl.

"Where are we?" My voice returns to me with a crash.

"We're close to the entrance of my guild, Crimson Angel. We didn't want to join the league of official guilds, so we had to hide the guild hall from prying eyes. But we're not a dark guild!" she adds hastily, looking at my face with a troubled expression. I can only hesitantly accept this information. Where did they hide the guild? I should be able to smell it, but the only scents are those of the forest.

The girl seems to have caught me sniffing the air because she starts explaining.

"I have a special type of magic. It sucks in battle, but it's not weak. I can affect peoples' perception of the smells around them. I also have a great sense of smell, for example I can smell things that are miles away. But only if I want to, otherwise I would be overwhelmed!" _She seems to be really chatty when she's not completely silent. Weird. And what does this have to do with me not being able to smell the guild? _"My magic can be really long-ranged if I want it to be, so for the guild I just put a spell on it! It's really complicated to do because usually I have to have a specific thing or person in mind when I change their sense of smell, but I managed to make the guild 'unsmellable'. This means that anyone without the mark can't smell it. My friend did the same thing except with sight. That's why you can't see it. Crimson Angel has five sense mages, and I'm one of them! We don't really fight all that much, but just in case the guild also has some really strong mages that specialize in battle."

Five sense mages, that sounds kind of like the element four from Phantom Lord. I wonder what else this guild has to offer. But there's one question more important than that.

"Can I have some food?"

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapters... But here's the update!<strong>

**If you have an OC you know what to do.**

**PLEASE REVIEW/ PM! Seriously, just let out your inner english teacher and tell me what i can do to improve. I'd really appreciate it.**

**Thank you for reading until this point.**

**~Stellar MEL**


	5. Crimson Angel

**Chapter Five! (Duh Stell don't state the obvious) Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Lucy PoV<strong>

"How do you feel?"

"Much better, thanks." I crack a weak smile at the concerned look on the She-Devil's face. "There's no need to keep worrying, I'm really fine!"

Mira pouts, her lower lip jutting out at an exaggerated angle, making her look like she has a pink caterpillar resting under her nose. I laugh, the vibrations hurting my lungs only a little now. She's obviously trying to make me feel better again, so I mirror her face to make it even more ridiculous. Along with the pouting mouth my nose scrunches up and my eyes crinkle until they can hardly be seen. Mira changes her face as well, and we waste time by trying to make each other laugh in increasingly crazy ways.

My friendship with the white-haired mage has grown over the past week, now she's just as much a sister to me as Levy. Before Tartarus she was one of my closest friends, but then I still thought of her as the beautiful, kind, and somewhat intimidating role model from Sorcerer's Weekly, as my idol. I still think this of her, but it's like Mira was wearing a cloak of mystery and greatness when I first met her that completely disintegrated into the mists over the course of the last few days.

The day after I woke up Mira told me the story of how she came to Fairy Tail. She told me of the fear in her heart when she found out about the demon, the fear in the hearts of the villagers being attacked. How she felt so hopeless, but when she saw her siblings crying and holding each other she had to do something, anything. The way her fellow villagers looked at her after the devil disappeared and transformed her arm into a grotesque, mutant limb. How her people, her family, now looked at her with the fear previously directed at the demon. She was forced to leave, she told me, because the major deemed her unholy and dangerous.

But Mira forgave him, because if he hadn't sent her away, she would have never joined Fairy Tail. She would never have had the chance to learn and refine her magic that was now praised by others as strong and beautiful. Lisanna and Elfman wouldn't have learned magic and the three would have lived without a family that loved and cared for them.

When I asked her why she was telling me her story out of the blue, she said I might be able to connect to it.

But how?

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><p>Tonight is the first night I'm allowed to sleep in my apartment again. Gramps deemed it necessary for me to stay in the infirmary until I was completely safe from having another attack and although I know there's no way to tell if I am safe, he said that I was healthy and could return to my bed.<p>

I shiver and Goosebumps run lightly over my skin as a faint autumns breeze brushes past me. Master made sure I was bundled up warmly in layers of cloth before stepping out into the brisk temperatures outside, but tiny wisps of cold air still manage to worm their way throught the cocoon and make me quicken my pace in the hope of entering the warmth of my appartment as soon as possible. I think of summoning Plue to walk with me, but I don't want to risk having another attack while he's in the human world. I don't know if my suspicions are true, but I have the feeling the memory loss and the fits are connected to my magic, so

would I call up any of my spirits and then have an attack I'm afraid that the pain would somehow injure them as well. Since Plue is weak to begin with, it might render him incapable of returning to Earthland for days, maybe even weeks or in a worst case scenario, months.

Will I ever get rid of this curse on my body and soul?

**Natsu PoV**

The girl stares at me with an intensity that makes me flinch. Maybe I shouldn't have been that blunt about my hunger right after she reveals such a large secret about her guild to a complete stranger, but every time my stomach growls my blood heats up and I have to resist the urge to vent my frustration in any way possible. My nails dig into my palm as I stare back unwaveringly, and long last my stomach rumbles so loudly that the girl twitches and grabs my hand. Her amethyst hair swings over her shoulder, narrowly missing my face, as she pulls me by the arm towards the center of the clearing. Her grip on my fingers is strong, and I can't pull away.

"Wha-"

I stop myself from saying anything further. My eyes widen as she moves her hand forward until it stopped in midair as if by an unseen force, and when she gives a strong push on nothing as if something is actually moving under her palm I can hardly hide my amazement at her stupidity.

"Are you pulling my leg?" The girl turns towards me and grins. Her grasp tightens and she tugs me forward, her hand still resting at a peculiar angle in midair. When she loosens her vicelike grip on my fingers and I turn towards her, ready to ask what in the world she's doing, she shoves my chest and I stumble to the ground in front of her. I can feel the stalks of grass between my fingers and the warmth of the sun against my body, but I'm cold as I realize I've been tricked. I was wrong, it can get worse for me, and it just has. What makes it even more discouraging is that she's still beaming at me, as if she hadn't just gotten me even more lost and bewildered than I already was.

"Welcome to Crimson Angel."

"You're still act-" my voice catches in my throat as I choke on the wave of smells flooding my brain. _They're so familiar…_ The scent of alcohol and of a large group of people are so much like the guild at home that I can only sit there dumbstruck while the walls of an unfamiliar building materialize around us. Then there's laughter, shouts of mirth that echo across the hall. Underneath me I feel cold planks of wood replacing the straw-like texture of the grass, and the warm light of the sun dims as it filters through a gargantuan stained glass window above dark, wooden doors. Through the open entrance way I can see the clearing, the sun still illuminating the scene with ethereal brilliance.

I stand up slowly, my eyes not leaving the face of the girl in front of me. She stands with her arms folded across her chest, a grin adorning her features, and her eyes locked similarly with mine.

"You thought I was bonkers, didn't you," she says cheerfully. "Well, now that you can see that I'm not, might as well get you some food." She starts weaving her way through the crowd, greeting members but moving forward all the while. I see lots of odd people, but after Fairy Tail I suppose I can't really judge this new guild. I zig-zag around the tables, nearly tripping as something resembling a rabbit races past me on its hind legs, ears flying over two feet behind it. I follow the creature with my eyes until it speeds around a corner, and when the ears disappear I continue trailing behind the purple-haired girl.

On the ground beneath me the guild mark of Crimson Angel is inlaid in the wooden floor, the scarlet color glowing as brightly as the sunset in the forest. Laughter and muffled conversations combined with the warmth of the crowd make me relax. My pent up anger is retreating to a far corner of my mind, but my stomach is still ripping at my insides.

The girl with the purple hair is sitting at a long, high table, watching the person behind the bar, a tall girl with long blond hair, walk to and fro before placing a dark red juice in front of her. She grabs a straw and starts gulping down the drink eagerly, barely looking up as I try to seat myself next to her. She still doesn't look up as the long-eared bunny I nearly tripped over jumps up to a stool triple his size, seizes a straw, and sticks it in her glass. She simply shifts over to the side and lets him drink. The blonde looks at me, and I look at the mass of lavender hair next to me, shrugging.

The girl finally finishes her drink and the bartender goes to make another one. She turns her lilac eyes towards me questioningly.

"What?"

"Well, do you want to eat or not?" The sheer obviousness of the answer is painful but I hide my aggravation behind a curt, "yes". She turns to bartender, who by now finished with the second glass of dark red juice and is placing it in front of the rabbit.

"Sarafina, could you get our guest some food, anything will do." The blonde, Sarafina, nods and starts gathering ingredients for what looks to be pasta. The purple haired girl swivels her chair to face me.

"I should have asked you this ages earlier, but what's your name?"

"Natsu." I barely reply. My eyes follow Sarafina as she prepares the food. Somehow, even though it's only been seconds, the water is already boiling and all the ingredients for the sauce are lying completely prepared on the counter.

"Well, I'm Nilani, nice to meet you!" She's really bubbly, and I guess she's kind of clueless.

"You aren't going to take of your pack?"

Nilani looks at me, but then shrugs and proceeds to take it off. Only then do I notice that she's wearing a crop top **(A/N: Natsu's just ignorant)** that exposes her entire abdomen. Her long hair covers most of her back, but I can still see about two inches below her top, where the guild mark is stamped in a luminescent gold.

Sarafina walks over with a plate piled full of pasta and sauce. Neither she nor Nilani look surprised as I start to scarf down the meal between gulps of water. I would prefer something hotter, something with chili, but now my hunger is more important than taste. I eat and drink until the plate is empty and there's no water left.

I turn towards Sarafina, the thanks dying on my lips as I see that she's already serving new costumers. I can feel and unwavering gaze at my back, and I turn to see the bunny staring at me.

"That's Roma, our resident house pet." Nilani offers when she catches me staring at the odd creature.

"I'm not a house pet, jerk. I'm also a mage." It talks?!

"Yes, well," she seems unfazed by the fact that he just insulted her, "He's known for having an attitude."

"Obviously." I reply with a grin. "Who does he belong to?"

"I don't belong to anyone, jerk, I'm partners with the grey haired mage over there. Ash" He points to a short boy, perhaps Levy's height, who's talking to a girl with fiery red hair and glasses. The boy is elegantly dressed, with a silver sleeveless long coat and pressed white trousers. His hair, however, is impossibly styled. A crown of grey spikes adorns the top of his head, while the rest is pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. "We're both from Veronica, the country neighboring Fiore."

Suddenly the boy, Ash, turns and walks towards the bar, the red-head trailing behind him.

"Hey, Nilani, Roma, and you are…?"

"Natsu."

"Pleasure." His accent is very drawling and confident. Up close I can see that he has an icy, blue-silver earing in his left ear. "What brings you to Crimson Angel? And Nilani," he turns to look at the amethyst haired mage, "you are aware that Master gets very angry if you bring strangers to the guild without his permission?"

The blood runs out of her face as she pales at the prospect of… of what? What happens when someone brings a stranger to the guild?

A deep, powerful voice calls out over the noise of the guild hall.

"Nilani-"

Crap.

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><p><strong>I have no idea what to say here so I hope you enjoyed the chapter and my new OCs. Some of them will be based on characters from other fandoms of mine (one of them already is) so if you want to guess, feel free!<strong>

***gawd I'm so tired...***

**~Stellar**


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